I AM NOT A POLITICAL ARTIST
2-channel video installation, sound, looped, 2026
by Ost x Maximova
"I AM NOT A POLITICAL ARTIST" is a video installation that traces the quiet violence embedded in the demand to take a political stance within the contemporary art world. It reflects on how political declarations operate as routinized gestures – tickets to belonging – regardless of whether the art itself engages with politics. Today, neutrality and undecidedness are similarly viewed with suspicion, transforming the politicalness of art into a performative act rather than a position.
The work echoes the McCarthy era and its witch hunts for hidden communists within American society and culture. During this period, ruthless televised public hearings led by Senator Joseph McCarthy forced individuals to publicly declare: "I am not and have never been a member of the Communist Party".
The work emerged from the polarized reactions to Ost x Maximova’s first collaborative project, Fog, including accusations that it was not "political" enough.
"I AM NOT A POLITICAL ARTIST" is a part of "ALL IS FOG" performative installation.
"I AM NOT A POLITICAL ARTIST" is a part of "ALL IS FOG" performative installation.
